Symphony of Psalms Igor Stravinsky1 I. Exaudi orationem meam, Domine [3.92]2 II. Expectans expectavi, Dominum [6.23]

3 III. Alleluia. Laudate Dominum [11.44]

4 Friede auf Erden, Op. 13 Arnold Schoenberg [10.30]

Chichester Psalms Leonard Bernstein5 Psalm 108: 2; Psalm 100 [3.42]6 Psalm 23; Psalm 2: 1–4 [5.31]7 Psalm 131; Psalm 133: 1 [9.23]

8 Psalm 23, Op. 14 Alexander Zemlinsky [10.53]

Total timings: [60.28]

SYMPHONIC PSALMS & PRAYERS

www.signumrecords.com

TENEBRAEBBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

DAVID ALLSOPP COUNTERTENORNIGEL SHORT CONDUCTOR

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that Igor Stravinsky fulfilled the requirements with his tongue in his cheek. It all depends on how you define the word: symphonic. This piece is in a slightly unlikely musical format but it has become widely-known and hard-wearing, maybe because of its individuality. He clearly did not just provide a pot-boiler for popular appeal. One look at the chosen texts might be enough to put off the listener before the music begins. No feel-good choice of psalms where all sounds well with God, the Psalmist and Creation. In fact, if the listener were on the edge of giving up hope of good relations with the Almighty, then the snippets of Psalm 38 are full of supplications of inadequacy, even a little despair, relieved with a small dose of hope and trust in the promises of the Lord in Psalm 39. Only in the setting of the complete Psalm 150 is there what might be described as a conventional approach to linking the virtues of God with the joys of singing, illustrated by some of the more usual biblical instrumentation: trumpets and well-tuned cymbals. Even then, it is not always a happy sing-along: an ominous hint of menace underpins the words Laudate and Alleluia in the final movement. It should not be forgotten that the Book of Psalms is, after all, a song book and David himself, the psalmist,

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Stravinsky: Symphony of PsalmsSchoenberg: Friede auf Erden, Op. 13Bernstein: Chichester PsalmsZemlinsky: Psalm 23, Op. 14

With trumpets and well-tuned cymbals. The musical and prayerful richness of The Book of Psalms inspires vastly differing offerings from composers with a myriad of approaches to combining the two worlds of the symphonic and the choral. The results are works which defy categorisation and stand the test of time with audiences and performers alike.

There are certain giants in the musical repertoire which are unmistakable, either because they do not fit neatly into a category or because they are simply so distinctive as to be etched on our collective musical memory. The result of a commission by the Boston Symphony Orchestra to celebrate their 50th anniversary of foundation, the Symphony of Psalms could be thought of as a compromise. Its publisher had ambitions for a popular work, although the definition of popular might be the first liberty taken by Stravinsky in supplying the goods. The Boston Symphony Orchestra requested a symphonic work, as suggested by their name, and it might be

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is referred to in the subtitles of many of the individual psalms as The Choirmaster.

Now for that tricky word: symphony. The traditional understanding is a certain way of piecing musical form together and a way of developing themes. Yet the original meaning of the word symphony suggests sounds which go well together, and Igor Stravinsky might have had this idea in mind when he provided a format which is miles away from the symphony as we know it. The commissioning orchestra would have known that Stravinsky had already produced works such as the Symphony in Eb from his youth, the Symphony of Wind Instruments, Symphony in C and the Symphony in 3 movements. But now he produces a completely different, three-movement choral symphony in neo-classical style which the musical world has held in high esteem ever since. There are further arguments for his use of the term, symphony in the sense of balance in music. There is harmony and intricate writing in equal roles for orchestra and choir; certainly not a choral work with just orchestral accompaniment – much more a dialogue. We can see and hear classic textures of choral writing: the double-fugue of the second movement with clear echoes of polyphony in the

third section. But there is another depth to the package which perhaps explains its universal appeal. There is the composer’s own ritual darkness in the flavour of much of the orchestral colour, an unmistakably Russian-Orthodox aroma, coupled with the use of the psalms of the Jewish faith in their Roman Catholic translation. Difficult to pin down, but there seem to be tolling bells in there – nothing as obvious as orchestral bells, but even the opening chord gives the impression that ritual activity is about to take place. Maybe it is the repeated Es throughout, like a tolling bell, at different pitches which keep the first movement rooted somewhere, in a vague sense of worship. Much of the centring around this note is chanting rather than normal melody, almost a monastic restriction for the voice in austerity, pandering neither to the audience, nor to the singers themselves.

A gateway looking to the twentieth century’s atonalism and equally to the end of the romantic era, Friede auf Erde is a baffling exception to categorisation, and a choral essay with which Schoenberg became disillusioned as much as with the likelihood of universal harmony among his fellow men. The work was the significant last of his previous tonal period, in his own words

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in 1923, “an illusion created in his previous innocence”. In the inter-war years this pessimism was perhaps unsurprising, when Anton Webern asked in 1928: “Have you even heard your chorus at all? In that case, do you know how beautiful it is? Unprecedented! What a sound!” The practicalities of performing the piece, composed in 1907 but not performed until 1911, and then only with the addition of purely-supporting instrumental accompaniment, have led to a certain performance fear. Certainly, at a point of metamorphosis for the composer from late Romanticism to atonal Expressionism, the building-blocks of the textures are grounded in the part-writing tradition of Brahms, linked to the discipline of the Polyphonic Masters. The cause of the initial abandonment of rehearsals by the Vienna Singverein must have been the challenge of the tonal journey throughout, which is not facilitated by any harmonic or melodic implication nor any helping hand from instrumental lines, since it was conceived as an a cappella composition. The text is a poem from 1886 by Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (1825-1898) which he wrote for the Christmas edition of Schorers Familienblatt, a family newspaper. Despite both the title and the narrative of the Nativity of Christ in the first stanza, the content is of a secular, somewhat utopian slant

although the musical treatment gives at least a reverential tone to the concept of Peace upon Earth if not actual sacredness.

Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms was one of the many enlightened and imaginative commissions of the Dean of Chichester Cathedral, Walter Hussey which resulted in this somewhat unconventional work for the Southern Cathedrals Festival of 1965. Picture the raised eyebrows at an American Jewish composer with a leaning towards the sounds of Broadway writing a setting of psalm selections in Hebrew for the English Cathedral world. This was a culture in which the appearance of risqué biblical texts and the tones of the saxophone (Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast) or the use of War Poetry in a religious work (Britten’s War Requiem) ruffled the Establishment’s feathers. Still, this unique jewel in the repertoire has become recognised as an illuminated expression of the message of the psalms set, as well as a possibly-unintended commentary on the timeless struggles of mankind and, maybe more specifically, conflict among different nations.

There is no conventional approach to the combination of choirs and orchestra – first the use of a solo boy in a lower range than the

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typical, floating-chorister role is a distinctive marker. This exacting, vocal part has the option of being taken by a countertenor, and since the persona represents the psalmist himself, the boy David, Bernstein stipulated that it was a male-only domain. The orchestral forces, while omitting woodwind, make the most imaginative use of strings, brass, percussion, but most of all a major role for two harps. The biblical references alone grant these instruments a heavenly part, and the composer himself made their importance clear at an initial rehearsal by treating the rest of the forces to a play-through by the harpists alone. The percussion lends colours and metrical and rhythmic dimensions which would have seemed at least refreshing in the intended setting of an English cathedral. In the event, the actual premiere was in Philharmonic Hall, New York City shortly before its unveiling in Britain. The legendary percussionist, James Blades had an important consultative role in adapting the instrumentation for an economy version by the composer for organ, and one player each on harp and percussion, and this has contributed to the work’s widespread following ever since.

There are three movements, each using selected verses from the Hebrew Psalms, identical

except in some details of verse-numbering to the psalms chanted and recited daily in churches and monasteries in all of Christendom, so the work serves as an essay in ecumenism, whether that was the intention or not. The best-known of these psalms is the central movement which depicts God as the Good Shepherd, tending his flock. The opening is essentially a call to praise God and rejoice in Creation, with a paean of praise in what is known in the Christian Liturgy as the Jubilate. After the comforting words of the central section, the third movement delights in a Divine optimism of comfort and hope, with an appeal for unity at the close, echoed in Bernstein’s use of a unison close in voices and orchestra.

There is a risk in the world of choral singing to undertake works which demand just a little too much of the singers. The talents required in Chichester Psalms should not be underestimated, written with rhythmic complexity and interval-calculations which, even in the 1960s would have come as a shock to members of choral societies or church choirs. All the voices, including a short section for a SATB quartet near the end, have huge demands made of them, in technical terms both vocal

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and musical. The major part of the first movement is in 7/4 metre, itself a counter-intuitive sensation for musicians. There is a predominance of the interval of the seventh, especially between the lowest two voices – a tricky relationship for the ear to gauge. The use of this number is specific to the symbolism of that number in the bible. In the Book of Revelation alone this number is used 54 times. We are perhaps accustomed to such references as ‘sevenfold grace’, the seventh day: the Sabbath, seven divisions of the bible, seven angels, seven trumpets, seven seals, that they go unnoticed. I cannot help pointing out that the modern harp has seven pedals to alter the pitch of the strings and that the musical octave, despite the name, has seven letter-named notes. That might be sufficient on the subject on paper; the feel of it is in the musical effect.

Bernstein made a motivic use of an angular shape heard at the outset which consists of a downward fourth, rising seventh (as discussed above) and a descending fifth. This gets the transformatory treatment throughout the work, binding it together through its various moods and messages. Curiously, I find it rather close, at least in the elements of the fourth and

the seventh, to the principal theme of Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand, ‘Jupiter’ from Holst’s The Planets and even, most surprisingly, to the introduction to the 1964 theme for Star Trek, composed by Alexander Courage.

You cannot take Leonard Bernstein, the composer of big tunes, taut rhythmical interplay and glitzy instrumentation out of a commission for an ecclesiastical festival – he succeeded in merging two contrasting worlds in a work which grabs the attention of the listener and has proved to be a hard-wearing favourite among choral singers.

Alexander von Zemlinsky’s Psalm 23 (The Lord is my Shepherd) is in a fantasy style, painting a musical picture to match the echoes of the pastoral mode of this psalm text where God is likened to a shepherd. About one half of the Book of Psalms in the Bible was written by (King) David who was once a shepherd himself. In the Hebrew headings for many of the psalms, there are the inscriptions: ‘A Psalm of David’ and ‘To the Choirmaster’. Therefore it is hardly surprising that the words of Psalms are a ready resource for composers. Think of it as a very, very old book of lyrics. Arguably, Psalm 23 is the best-known in the whole collection

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of 150 psalms and maybe its popularity is because it is not so much a prayer asking God for gifts or graces, but rather it expresses contentment and trust in what the Lord has provided on earth and has promised for the future. Zemlinsky paints a picture in music with some of the optimism of Gustav Mahler’s choral works and a little of the religious fervour of his teacher, Anton Bruckner. There is also a forward-looking use of chromatic harmony which sounds almost like an introduction to the composer Arnold Schoenberg. There is an immediacy to his way of transforming imagined, pastoral scenes into colourful melody and harmony which is direct and appealing. Some of the influences in his style are easily traced in Zemlinsky’s own life.

Born in Vienna with a mixture of Catholic, Muslim and Jewish cultures, his three psalm-settings make up almost all of his sacred music compositions. He intended to marry Anna Schindler had Gustav Mahler not got there first but, despite this domestic upset, Mahler was still chosen to conduct the premiere of Zemlinsky’s Opera, Es War Einmal (Once upon a time) and it might have been Mahler’s music which was the inspiration for Alexander’s sweeping phrases and arching climaxes. Yet,

alongside his conventional harmony in the mould of Wagner and Brahms, it is the ground-shifting chromaticism which points us to another family connection: Schoenberg married Zemlinsky’s sister Mathilde in 1901, and 1907 was the year of both the composition of Schoenberg’s Friede auf Erde and the marriage of Zemlinsky to Ida Guttman. After formative years immersed in the music of the Jewish faith, Zemlinsky had converted to Protestantism in 1899, the same year that he took up the position of Kappelmeister at Vienna’s Carltheater. Another similar post followed in 1906 at the Vienna Volksoper so this creative burst of choral works is perhaps not entirely surprising and his three psalm-settings rank among his finest works.

The use of the oboe in the orchestral introduction of Psalm 23 is perhaps an obvious choice, since this instrument has been used since the Baroque period to suggest the countryside as depicted in the words of this psalm. The vocal lines retain a certain folksong simplicity and the use of mainly higher voices lends an angelic feel to the mood. The harmonic language becomes more chromatic and sensuous as the psalm’s valley of death approaches and rustic spice is added to the sumptuous

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instrumentation, with glockenspiel, harp, piccolo and cymbals emphasizing the rather high-lying world of the shepherd, suggesting those instruments (timbrel, pipe, harp etc.) which feature so often in the Book of Psalms. For those who know the sound of the bridge passage before the Chorus Mysticus of Mahler’s

TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS

1 - 3 Symphony of PsalmsIgor Stravinsky

1. Exaudi orationem meam, Domine, et deprecationem meam.Auribus percipe lacrimas meas. Ne sileas,Quoniam advena ego sum apud te et peregrinus, sicut omnes patres mei.Remitte mihi ut refrigerer priusquamabeam et amplius non ero.

Text: Psalm 38/39: 13-14

2. Expectans expectavi Dominum et intendit mihi Et exaudivit preces meas

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my supplication:Give ear to my tears. Be not silent, for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.O spare me, that I may recover strength,before I go hence, and be no more.

With expectation I have waited for the Lord, and he was attentive to me.And he heard my prayers,

Symphony No.8, there are little hints of this sound-world in Zemlinsky’s Psalm 23. The two works were premiered in the same year and it is worth recalling the esteem in which Zemlinsky held Gustav Mahler.

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et eduxit me de lacu miseriae et de luto fecis et statuit super petram pedes meos et direxit gressus meosEt inmisit in os meum canticum novum carmen Deo nostro videbunt multi et timebunt et sperabunt in Domino

Text: Psalm 39/40: 1–3

3. Alleluia.Laudate Dominum in sanctis EiusLaudate Eum firmamento virtutis EiusLaudate Eum in virtutibus EiusLaudate Eum secundum multitudinemmagnitudinis Eius.Laudate Eum in sono tubaeLaudate Eum in timpano et choroLaudate Eum in cordis et organoLaudate Eum in cymbalis benesonantibusLaudate Eum in cymbalis jubilantionibusOmnis spiritus laudate Dominum.Alleluia.

Text: Psalm 150

and brought me out of the pit of misery and the mire of dregs. And he set my feet upon a rock, and directed my steps.And he put a new canticle into my mouth, a song to our God. Many shall see, and shall fear: and they shall hope in the Lord.

AlleluiaPraise ye the Lord in his holy placespraise ye him in the firmament of his powerPraise ye him for his mighty actspraise ye him according to the multitude of his greatness.Praise him with sound of trumpetPraise him with timbrel and choirpraise him with strings and organsPraise him on high sounding cymbalspraise him on cymbals of joyLet every spirit praise the Lord.Alleluia.

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4 Friede auf erden, Op. 13Arnold Schoenberg

Da die Hirten ihre Herde Ließen und des Engles Worte Trugen durch die niedre Pforte Zu der Mutter mit dem Kind, Fuhr das himmlische Gesind Fort im Sternenraum zu singen, Fuhr der Himmel fort zu klingen: “Friede, Friede! auf der Erde!”

Seit die Engel so geraten, O wie viele blut’ge Taten Hat der Streit auf wildem Pferde, Der geharnischte vollbracht! In wie mancher heiligen Nacht Sang der Chor der Geister zagend, Dringlich flehend, leis verklagend: “Friede, Friede... auf der Erde!”

Doch es ist ein ewiger Glaube, Dass der Schwache nicht zum Raube Jeder frechen Mordgebärde Werde fallen allezeit: Etwas wie Gerechtigkeit Webt und wirkt in Mord und Grauen Und ein Reich will sich erbauen, Das den Frieden sucht der Erde.

Peace on earth

When the shepherds left their flocks,And conveyed the angel’s wordsThrough the low doorwayTo the mother with the child,The heavenly throng continuedTo sing in the firmament,Heaven continued to sound:“Peace, peace on earth!”

Since the angels uttered such advice –Ah! how many bloody deedsHas armed warfare on wild horsesPerpetrated!In how many a sacred nightHas the choir of spirits sung – tentatively,With fervent pleading, gradually fading:“Peace, peace on earth!”

But there is an eternal beliefThat the weak shall not fall preyTo every insolent murderous gestureAt every season:Something resembling justiceWorks against murder and horror,And a kingdom shall be createdThat seeks peace on earth.

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Mählich wird es sich gestalten, Seines heiligen Amtes walten, Waffen schmieden ohne Fährde, Flammenschwerter für das Recht, Und ein königlich Geschlecht Wird erblühn mit starken Söhnen, Dessen helle Tuben dröhnen: Friede, Friede auf der Erde!

Text: Conrad Ferdinand Meyer

Gradually this kingdom shall come about,Shall exercise its power,Shall forge weapons without peril,Shall forge swords of fire for justice;And a race of kingsShall flourish with strong sons,Whose bright tubas shall blare out:Peace, peace on earth!

Translation @ Richard Stokes

5 - 7 Chichester PsalmsLeonard Bernstein

Urah hanevel v’chinor!A‘irah shahar.

Hari‘u l’Adonai kol ha’arets,Iv’du et Adonai b’simha,Bo’u l’fanav bir’nanah.D‘u ki Adonai hu Elohim,hu ‘asanu v’lo anahnu.Amo v’tson mar‘ito.Bo’u sh‘arav b’todah,Hatseirotav bit’hilah,Hodu lo, bar’chu sh’mo,Ki tov Adonai, l’olam has’do,V‘ad dor vador ’emunato.

Awake, psaltery and harp: I will rouse the dawn!

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. Know that the Lord, he is God.It is he that has made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Come unto his gates with thanksgiving, And into his court with praise.Be thankful unto him and bless his name. The Lord is good, his mercy everlasting And his truth endureth to all generations.

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.Words: Psalm 108. 2, 100

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Adonai ro-i, lo ehsar.Bin’ot deshe yarbitseini,Al mei m’nuhot y’nahaleini,Naf’shi y’shovev,Yan’heini b’ma‘aglei tsedek,L’ma‘an sh’mo.Gam ki eilech

The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness,For his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk

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B’gei tsalmavet,Lo ira ra,Ki attah imadiShiv’t’cha umishan’techaHemah y’nahamuni.

Lamah rag’shu goyimUl’umim yeh’gu rik?Yit’yats’vu malchei erets,V’roznim nos’du yahadAl Adonai v‘al m’shiho.N’natkah et mos’roteimo,V’nashlichah mimenu avoteimo.Yoshev bashamayimYis’hak, AdonaiYil’ag lamo!

Ta‘aroch l’fanai shulchanNeged tsor’raiDishanta vashemen roshiCosi r’vayah.

Through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: For Thou art with me, Thy rod and thy staffThey comfort me.

Why do the nations rage: And the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together: against the Lord and against his anointed. Saying, let us break their bonds asunder, And cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavensShall laugh: and the Lord shall have them in derision!

Thou preparest a table before me In the presence of my enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil, My cup runneth over.

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Ach tov vahesedYird’funi kol y’mei hayaiV’shav’ti b’veit AdonaiL’orech yamim.

Surely goodness and mercy Shall follow me all the days of my life:And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

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Words: Psalms 23, 2. 1-4

Adonai, lo gavah libi,v’lo ramu einai,v’lo hilachtibig’dolot uv’niflaotmimeni.Im lo shivitiv’domam’ti,naf’shi k’gamul alei imo,kagamul alai naf’shi.yahel Yis’rael el Adonaime’atah v’ad olam.

Hineh mah tov,umah na’im,shevet ahimgam yahad.

Lord, My heart is not haughty, Nor mine eyes lofty, Neither do I exercise myself In great matters or in things Too wonderful for me to understand. Surely I have calmed And quieted myself, As a child that is weaned of his mother, My soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the Lord From henceforth and forever.

Behold how good And how pleasant it is, For brethren to dwell Together in unity.

Music: Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)Words: Psalms 131, 133. 1

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8 Psalm 23, Op. 14 Alexander Zemlinsky

Ein Psalm Davids. Der Herr ist mein Hirte; mir wird nichts mangeln.Er weidet mich auf einer grünen Aue und führet mich zum frischen Wasser.Er erquicket meine Seele; er führet mich auf rechter Straße um seines Namens willen.Und ob ich schon wanderte im finstern Tal, fürchte ich kein Unglück; denn du bist bei mir, dein Stecken und Stab trösten mich.Du bereitest vor mir einen Tisch im Angesicht meiner Feinde. Du salbest mein Haupt mit Öl und schenkest mir voll ein.Gutes und Barmherzigkeit werden mir folgen mein Leben lang.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

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TENEBRAE

SopranoNatalie Clifton-Griffith *˚Elizabeth Drury ˚Joanna L’EstrangeFiona Fraser †¥

Sophie Gallagher *

Eloise Irving †

Rosemary Galton †¥

Alice Gribbin †

Camilla Harris *†¥

Katy Hill *†¥

Marie Macklin *

Emilia Morton †¥

Laura Oldfield *˚†

Bethany Partridge ˚†¥

Katie Trethewey *†¥

Emma Walshe †¥

Amy Wood **

AltoHelen Charlston †

Nancy ColeDaniel Collins †¥

Hannah CookeHarriet Hougham Slade †¥

Tom Lilburn ˚†¥

Martha McLorinan *˚¥

Eleanor Minney *†¥

TenorBen AldenJeremy Budd ˚†¥

Joshua Cooter †

Nicholas MaddenAlastair Putt *

James Robinson †¥

Tom Robson ˚†¥

David de Winter

BassColin CampbellGabriel Crouch †

William Gaunt †¥

Edward GrintJimmy Holliday †¥

Stephen KennedyAndrew Mahon *˚Gregory Skidmore *

Simon Whiteley ˚

* Bernstein Chichester Psalms˚ Schoenberg Friede auf Erden† Zemlinsky Psalm 23¥ Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms

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Described as “phenomenal” (The Times) and “devastatingly beautiful” (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae, under the direction of Nigel Short, is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles renowned for its passion and precision.

Tenebrae’s ever-increasing discography has brought about collaborations with Signum, Decca Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, LSO Live, and Warner Classics. In 2012 Tenebrae were the first-ever ensemble to be multi-nominated in the same category for the BBC Music Magazine Awards, securing the accolade of Best Choral Performance for their recording of Victoria’s Requiem Mass, 1605. The following year the choir’s recording of Fauré’s Requiem with the London Symphony Orchestra was nominated for the Gramophone Awards, having been described as “the very best Fauré Requiem on disc” and “the English choral tradition at its zenith” (Richard Morrisson, Chief Music Critic, The Times). In 2014 the choir’s recording of Russian Orthodox music was launched on its own label, Bene Arte, receiving glowing reviews and reaching number 1 in the UK Specialist Classical Chart. In 2016 Tenebrae received its second BBC Music Magazine Award for a recording of Brahms and Bruckner motets, the profits

from the sale of which benefit Macmillan Cancer Support. In order to mark Tenebrae’s fifteenth anniversary in 2016-17, the choir re-released its first major commission by Joby Talbot, Path of Miracles, alongside a new work by rising composer, Owain Park.

Tenebrae is a dedicated advocate for contemporary composers, having worked with Judith Bingham, Alexander Levine, Paweł Łukaszewski, Paul Mealor, Hilary Tann, Sir John Tavener and Will Todd, in addition to recent releases featuring music by Ola Gjeilo and Alexander L’Estrange. The choir is renowned for its highly-acclaimed interpretations of choral music with repertoire ranging from hauntingly passionate works of the Renaissance through to contemporary choral masterpieces.

Tenebrae is regularly engaged with the world’s finest orchestras and has appeared at major national and international festivals and venues including the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival, Three Choirs Festival, Leipzig Gewandhaus (Germany) and Montreux Choral Festival (Switzerland). The 2017-18 season sees the return of Tenebrae’s popular Holy Week Festival at St John’s Smith Square, London, as well as concerts throughout the UK,

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Europe, USA and the choir’s debut in Australia. Alongside concert performances, the choir presents its inspirational workshop method, The Tenebrae Effect, designed to challenge and advance every participant by instilling skills essential to a Tenebrae performance.

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‘Passion and Precision’ are Tenebrae’s core values. Through its continued dedication to performance of the highest quality, Tenebrae’s vision is to deliver dramatic programming, flawless performances and unforgettable experiences, allowing audiences around the world to be moved by the power and intimacy of the human voice.

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BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The BBC Symphony Orchestra has been at the heart of British musical life since it was founded in 1930. It provides the backbone of the BBC Proms, performing around a dozen concerts at the festival each year. Highlights of the 2017 Proms season included performances of Mahler’s Second Symphony and Mussorgsky’s opera Khovanshchina, as well as the First Night and Last Night, which were conducted by Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo.

The BBC SO has a strong commitment to 20th-century and contemporary music, with recent and upcoming performances including commissions and premieres from Anna Clyne, Brett Dean, Philip Cashion, George Walker and Raymond Yiu.

It performs an annual season of concerts at the Barbican, where it is Associate Orchestra. The upcoming 2017–18 season includes Sakari Oramo’s Sibelius symphony series, Total Immersion composer days devoted to Esa-Pekka Salonen, Julian Anderson and Leonard Bernstein, a concert staging of Jake Heggie’s opera Dead Man Walking and an evening with American writer Armistead Maupin.

The BBC Symphony Orchestra also works regularly with Semyon Bychkov, who holds the Günter Wand Conducting Chair, and Conductor Laureate Sir Andrew Davis.

It regularly performs with the BBC Symphony Chorus and together they won the 2015 Gramophone Best Choral Disc Award for their recording of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, which they will perform as part of the 2017-18 season at the Barbican.

Central to the orchestra’s life are studio recordings for BBC Radio 3 at its Maida Vale home, some of which are free for the public to attend, and the BBC SO also performs throughout the world. The vast majority of concerts are broadcast on BBC Radio 3, streamed online and available for 30 days after broadcast via the Radio 3 website.

The BBC SO is committed to innovative education work: ongoing projects include the BBC’s Ten Pieces, the BBC SO Journey Through Music (with pre-concert workshops and discounted tickets for families) and the BBC SO Family Orchestra and Chorus.

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1st ViolinsStephen Bryant (leader) *

Alexandra Wood (guest Leader) ˚Anna Smith * ˚Benjamin Roskams ˚Charles Renwick * ˚Colin Huber *

Frances Dewar ˚Grace Lee ˚Helen Cox *

Jenny King ˚John Garner *

Kate Cole ˚Liz Partridge ˚Morane Cohen-Lamberger ˚Ni Do * ˚Regan Crowley * ˚Richard Aylwin *

Ruth Schulten ˚Sarah Thornett ˚Shirley Turner *

2nd ViolinsAnna Blackmur ˚Caroline Bishop ˚Daniel Meyer ˚Danny Fajardo * ˚Dawn Beazley *

Eleanor Bartlett ˚

Lucica Trita ˚Lucy Curnow ˚Maya Bickel ˚Philippa Ballard * ˚Rachel Samuel * ˚Ruth Hudson *

Shelley Van Loen ˚Tammy Se * ˚Vanessa Hughes *

Victoria Hodgson *

ViolasAudrey Henning * ˚Caroline Harrison * ˚Carolyn Scott ˚Daisy Spiers ˚Linda Kidwell ˚Matthias Wiesner *

Michael Leaver ˚Natalie Taylor ˚Nikos Zarb * ˚Peter Mallinson * ˚Anna Smith *

Philip Hall ˚

CellosAlice Murray ˚ †

Augusta Harris ˚ †

Clare Hinton ˚ †

Graham Bradshaw †

Marie Strom ˚ †

Mark Sheridan †

Matt Lowe *

Michael AtkinsonMorwenna Del Mar †

Sarah Hedley MillerSusan Monks * ˚Tamsy Kaner †

Victoria Harrild ˚

Double BassesAlice Kent †

Anita Langridge ˚ †

Ben Russell ˚ †

Beverley Jones ˚ †

Michael ClarkeNicholas Bayley ˚Peter Smith ˚Richard Alsop * †

Stephen Williams †

Steve Rossell †

William Cole *

FlutesDaniel Pailthorpe ˚ †

Jane Mitchell †

Kathleen Stevenson †

Michael Cox ˚Rebecca Larsen †

Tomoka Mukai ˚ †

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PiccoloKathleen Stevenson ˚

OboesAlison Alty †

Imogen Smith †

Judy Proctor ˚Katie Bennington †

Richard Simpson †

Tom Blomfield ˚

Cor AnglaisAlison Teale †

Helen Vigurs ˚

ClarinetsJames Burke ˚Peter Davis ˚Oliver Pashley ˚

BassoonsClaire Webster ˚Graham Hobbs †

Julie Price † ˚Steven Magee †

Susan Frankel † ˚

HornsAlexei Watkins †

James Pillai ˚Martin Owen ˚ †

Michael Murray ˚ †

Nicholas Hougham ˚ †

Phillippa Slack ˚ †

TrumpetsAlan Thomas ˚ †

Bruce Nockles †

Christopher Cotter ˚Gareth Bimson * †

Joseph Atkins * †

Martin Hurrell ˚Martin Rockall †

Miles Maguire *

TrombonesByron Fulcher ˚ †

Dan JenkinsDuncan Wilson *

Bass TromboneRobert O’Neill

TubaSam Elliott ˚ †

TimpaniChristopher Hind

PercussionAlex Neal * ˚David Hockings ˚ †

Elsa Bradley *

Fiona Ritchie * ˚Ignacio Molins *

Joseph Cooper *

Karen Hutt *

Olly Lowe *

HarpsLouise MartinManon Morris ˚Sioned Williams *

CelesteJohn Alley ˚

PianoElizabeth Burley †

Janet Simpson †

* Bernstein Chichester Psalms † Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms˚ Zemlinsky Psalm 23

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DAVID ALLSOPP

David Allsopp has established himself as one of the most versatile countertenors of his generation. A choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge and a former member of Westminster Cathedral Choir, he has since performed and recorded extensively with Tenebrae, Polyphony and the Gabrieli Consort & Players. He continues to work closely with the Gramophone Award nominated early music consort Gallicantus, of which he is a founding member.

David is increasingly in demand as a soloist in the UK and internationally in repertoire ranging from the medieval to the modern. Notable credits include Arvo Pärt’s Passio (BBC Proms), Carmina Burana (in Milan and Malta), and Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, which he has previously performed with Tenebrae.

But it is the music of Bach and Handel in which he has been most acclaimed. Oratorio credits include the St John and St Matthew Passions (Ex Cathedra, Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht, Noord Nederlands Orkest), Christmas Oratorio (BBC Singers) and Messiah (RLPO, Bournemouth Symphony, Huddersfield Choral Society). His ever-expanding

solo discography includes Israel in Egypt, Joshua and Jephtha, and performances of Saul at the Liederhalle Stuttgart were described as “angelic, expressive . . . he beguiled the audience from his first aria with tender phrasing, melting perfectly in duet” (Stuttgarter Zeitung).

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NIGEL SHORT

Award-winning conductor Nigel Short has built up an enviable reputation for his recording and live performance work with leading orchestras and ensembles across the world.

A singer of great acclaim, Nigel was a member of the renowned vocal ensemble The King’s Singers from 1994–2000. Upon leaving the group he formed Tenebrae, a virtuosic choir that embraced his dedication for passion and precision. Under his direction, Tenebrae has collaborated with internationally acclaimed orchestras and instrumentalists and now enjoys a reputation as one of the world’s finest vocal ensembles.

To date, Nigel has conducted the Aurora Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, English Chamber Orchestra, English Concert, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Scottish Ensemble. He has directed the London Symphony Orchestra alongside Tenebrae in a live recording of Fauré’s Requiem, which was nominated for the Gramophone Awards (2013) and since then, he has conducted the orchestra at St. Paul’s

Cathedral as part of the City of London Festival. Other orchestral recordings include Mozart’s Requiem and Ave Verum Corpus with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Nigel has vast recording experience having conducted for many of the world’s major labels including Decca Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, LSO Live, Signum and Warner Classics. As a Gramophone award-winning producer, Nigel works with many of the UK’s leading professional choirs and vocal ensembles including Alamire, Ex Cathedra, Gallicantus and The King’s Singers.

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Mike Hatch, Stephen Johns, Nigel Short and Gerhard Gall at BBC Maida Vale Studios, 8th July 2017

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Produced in association with BBC Radio 3

Tenebrae would like to thank Rev Dr Stephen and Lesley Allsopp, Richard Baker, and the Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation for generously supporting this project.

Symphony of Psalms, Chichester Psalms and Psalm 23 recorded in BBC Maida Vale Studios, London, on 11th July 2016 and on 3rd, 4th and 8th July 2017.Producer – Stephen Johns

Recording Engineer – Mike HatchRecording Assistant – George Collins

Friede auf Erden recorded in St Augustine’s Church, Kilburn, London on 11th July 2016. Producer – Stephen Johns

Recording Engineer – Mike HatchRecording Assistant – Richard Bland

Editing – Claire Hay, Jennifer Howells & Andrew Mellor

German Language Coach – Gerhard GallHebrew Language Coach – Dr Amos Paran

Cover Image – iStockphotoDesign and Artwork – Woven Design www.wovendesign.co.uk

P 2018 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by Signum Records Ltd

© 2018 The copyright in this CD booklet, notes and design is owned by Signum Records Ltd

Any unauthorised broadcasting, public performance, copying or re-recording of Signum Compact Discs constitutes an infringement of copyright and will render the infringer liable to an action

by law. Licences for public performances or broadcasting may be obtained from Phonographic Performance Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this booklet may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Signum Records Ltd.

SignumClassics, Signum Records Ltd., Suite 14, 21 Wadsworth Road, Perivale, Middx UB6 7JD, UK. +44 (0) 20 8997 4000 E-mail: info@signumrecords.com

www.signumrecords.com

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BBC is a trademark of the British Broadcasting Corporation and is used under license. BBC ©BBC 1996.

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ALSO AVAILABLE on signumclassics

Available through most record stores and at www.signumrecords.com For more information call +44 (0) 20 8997 4000

Brahms & Bruckner MotetsTenebrae, Nigel ShortSIGCD430

“Nigel Short and Tenebrae have come up with a beautifully balanced and contrasted programme…The beauty of sound and dignified expression of intensity that Tenebrae create in the opening of the first choral number, Bruckner’s Virga Jesse, would be impressive in themselves but with the ear prepared by the first Aequilis the effect is even more telling…what superb singing: technically immaculate, somehow lucid and voluptuously beautiful all at the same time.” BBC Music Magazine Award Winner, 2016

Russian TreasuresTenebrae, Nigel ShortSIGCD900

“a beautifully blended, spaciously paced journey through late 19th and early 20th century Russian liturgical music. The basses are phenomenal, descending to their sepulchral bottom B flats.” The Times